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After a polishing off most of the wine in the cupboard on a very merry Saturday night, I was left with half a bottle of champagne in the fridge. Rather than ditching it down the drain I decided to make a little grown up jelly that we saved until after the hangover from hell had abated.

Recipe

Ingredients

400ml sparkling wine
1 punnet of stawberries washed, and sliced (most summer fruit works well)
3 gellatine leaves (powder works too)
50ml elderflower cordial
Whipped cream (optional)

Method

1.Soak the gellatine for thirty minutes or as per manufacturers instr.

2. Gently heat the elderflower and add gellatine, mix well

3. place in glasses of choice, top up with wine and strawberries. cover with cling film to preserve the bubbles

4. Chuck it in the fridge for a couple of hours to set

5. Pipe a splodge of cream on the top and / or a bit more fruit to finish.

* 650g (22oz) Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes
* 225g (8oz) self-raising flour
* 300ml beer
* 4 x 175g (6oz) thick haddock fillets, or other firm white fish.
* Seasoned flour
* Sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying

Method

1. Maris Piper, King Edward and Desiree are the best potatoes for making chips – they’ll have a thick coating and a deliciously fluffy middle. Peel and cut the potatoes into chunky chips (plump chips will absorb less fat). Soak them in a bowl of cold water until you are ready to begin cooking them.
2. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl, and gradually whisk in the beer until the batter is the thickness of double cream. Cover and chill.
3. Preheat oven to 50°C/122°F/gas 1. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 120°C/248°F/gas 2. Rinse the chips under cold water and pat dry with kitchen towel. Cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes until soft but still pale. Drain on kitchen towel. Increase heat to 180°C/356°F/gas 5.
4. Dust the fish with seasoned flour, shaking of the excess. Dip two fillets into the batter and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden and crispy. Keep warm. Repeat with the remaining fillets, making sure the fat is still 180°C/356°F/gas 5. Return chips to the hot fat for 2 to 3 minutes, until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and add salt.

This is my all time favourite alternative breakfast snack from Vietnam. Madame Anne, our hotel

manageress in the beautiful old town of HoiAn served us this tasty dish every morning with a Vietnamese

coffee and baguette on the side.

Pronounced ‘fuh bu’, Pho Bo (Beef Noodle Soup) is without doubt Vietnam’s most popular dish with

westerners and is often enjoyed for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It takes a fair bit of preperation, but it’s

worth every minute in the tasting.

Ingredients

(serves 6, or 3 greedy people!)

* 1.5kg of beef bones

* 3.5 Litres of cold water x 2

* 3 red onions / large shallots, unpeeled, halved

* 5cm piece ginger, unpeeled

* 8 whole star anise

* 2 cinnamon sticks

* 3 tsp black peppercorns

* 6 whole cloves

* 2 tbs coriander seeds Read the rest of this entry →

Waiter! One mixed special tandoori Please!

Up until nine months ago, this was the extent of my knowledge of tandoor cookery. And to be honest, I was quite happy eating the tasty delights in complete ignorance of just how what I was devouring was prepared and cooked.

Now that India is behind me, so to speak. Despite all the wonderful curries, snacks, sweets, chai and lassi, it is the tandoor cooked food that I hunger for most.

But first things first, what is a tandoor? Read the rest of this entry →

It must have been about three in the morning as I was woken once more by the monotone drawl of the Chai Wallah on the Madogarh express.
This was our second day of what would eventually turn into a mammoth forty hours on a train journey to the India-Nepal border. Read the rest of this entry →

Momo? What on earth is a momo? I heard myself ask as I wandered past a sign in the Goan nightmarket.
‘Momo is Delicious’ came a reply from behind the stall. This didn’t really help me answer my question, but it certainly intrigued me enough to take a closer look. Read the rest of this entry →